To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department is taking to support attempts at an EU level to press for a global moratorium on the use of capital punishment.

We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle and are working with our EU partners towards universal abolition. This includes consideration of a death penalty initiative in the UN General Assembly. It has proven difficult in the past to secure a UN resolution calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty and it is important that we secure an acceptably strong text. We are discussing with EU partners how best to advance this.